JP Morgan hires Next Gen Leader for renewed secondaries focus

JP Morgan Asset Management is making secondaries a priority, six years after raising its last vehicle dedicated to the strategy.

The New York-headquartered asset manager, which as of 31 December had $170 billion of alternatives assets under management, hired Tim Henn to work on secondaries investments, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Henn will work on LP-led and GP-led deals, primarily in the private equity and venture capital markets, according to one of the sources. The team may also target opportunities in the credit space, Secondaries Investor understands.

Henn joins JP Morgan from Portfolio Advisors, where he spent more than eight years and rose to the title of senior vice-president. He ranked 12th in last year’s Next Gen Leaders of Secondaries, with supporters highlighting his central role in launching Portfolio Advisors’ credit secondaries business.

“Tim was a great colleague and friend, and we wish him well in his new role,” said Portfolio Advisors’ global head of secondaries Stephen Sloan.

JP Morgan has raised three funds dedicated to secondaries, its first as far back as 2009, according to Secondaries Investor data. The most recent was PEG Secondary Private Equity Investors III, which collected $1.16 billion by close in August 2016. It is not clear why the firm has not raised a fund since. A spokesman did not wish to comment.

Portfolio Advisors has been on the growth path over the past two years, bringing in managing directors Sloan, Brian Mooney and Briac Houtteville from the secondary advisory team at Greenhill, as well as eight vice-presidents and associates, Secondaries Investor reported.

In January, the firm closed its fourth flagship private equity secondaries fund on $2.6 billion, surpassing the previously reported hard-cap, Secondaries Investor reported.

Henn did not respond to requests for comment.